Chichi/Atitlan Overnight Highlights

Lake Atitlan and Chichicastenango overnight tour

Tour starts in Guatemala City or Antigua Guatemala

$ 185.00

The market of Chichicastenango is home to what is undoubtedly the most colorful native market in North and Central America, perhaps in both Americas. It is where you can see Guatemalan live culture. From the appearance of its people, their entrepreneur spirit when bargaining and selling their merchandise to local dishes and other products from the rich Guatemalan soil.

Lake Atitlan is considered one of the most beautiful in the world by many including the famous novelist Aldous Huxley. Three spectacular volcanoes, Toliman, Atitlan, and San Pedro are the natural setting of the lake. It has an area of 125 square kilometers and 1,560 meters altitude above the sea level.

In both ways, you will be close to the essence of the Highlands and what Guatemalan soul is!

Important: only Thursday or Sunday are market days.

Itinerary:

This tour takes you to visit the famous Chichicastenango outdoor market, the biggest in Central America. It is held on Thursdays and Sundays only. It's very crowded and noisy fair that takes almost all the streets of the city. Here you can see goods that come from all over this country, as well as taste local dishes and fruits and vegetables on offer there.

Now it is the time to become familiar with the Lake Atitlan. The public boat will take us to Santiago Atitlan.

Although Pana is the biggest settlement on the lake, Santiago is the capital. It may be because real native culture managed to stay alive here, while in Pana visitors that started to come here in the "flower-power" era created their blend of life.

Santiago offers food, souvenirs, lessons, insight into local customs and everyday life. You'll find many "cooperativas" that offer various products, you'll meet the locals always ready to teach you something new.

Santiago is the most popular lakeside settlement outside Panajachel, and many atitecos (as its people are known) cling to a traditional Tz’utujil Mayan lifestyle. Women weave and wear huipiles (tunics) embroidered with brilliantly colored birds and flowers, and the cofradías town’s maintain the ceremonies and rituals of tradition, the syncretic traditions, and practices of Mayan Catholicism. There’s a large art and crafts scene here as well. Back to Panajachel.